Chapter Two: It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

"You pass people on the street,

some are for you,

some are not."

― Robert Henri, The Art Spirit

As Elliott trailed after Five, he frowned as the shorter boy dropped the bloody device from his arm onto the wet pavement.

Five glanced back at Elliott, the look on his face something that Elliott couldn't quite grasp. "Come on," he said, jerking his head. "I know where we can go." Holding out his arm, Five waited expectantly. When Elliott just stood there with furrowed eyebrows, Five snapped, "Take it already! We don't have the time for this."

Elliott almost snapped back that he didn't even know what this was, but he placed a hand on Five's arm anyway, and they disappeared in a flash of blue light.

When they materialized again, Elliott would have collapsed onto the ground, but Five grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him up. As he gasped for breath, Elliott realized that they stood on a fire escape high off from the ground in an unfamiliar part of the city.

"W-where are we?" Elliott spluttered.
"My sister's apartment," Five replied, his fingers resting on the bottom of the window. When he pulled it up without a struggle, he frowned but climbed in.

"Isn't this, y' know, breaking and entering?" The taller boy asked as he clambered in after him.

Five waved a hand. "It's fine," he called, shutting the window. "Vanya shouldn't mind." He sat down in a small cushioned chair. Scooting over, he offered the small space next to him for Elliott to sit down, but the taller boy shook his head, opting to stand.

"God," he muttered, dusting off his pants. This was insane, even for him. "Why are we even here?"

Pursing his lips, Five took a moment before he settled on saying, "I trust her."

Elliott sighed, rubbing his face, but he relented. Five trusted his sister, and even though that shouldn't have been enough for Elliott, it was.

"Okay, well, while we wait, could you at least explain everything?" He asked eventually, his tone verging on begging.

Five grinned smugly, folding his arms. "Explain what, El?"

Waving his arms wildly, Elliott snapped back, "This! You! How do you even know my name? I haven't told anyone my real name in—"

"Ten years," Five interjected, his voice the softest Elliott had ever heard it. "I know, Ellie. And I swear I'll tell you everything soon, but I just need you to trust me right now." He stepped towards the taller boy, his hand outstretched, but he thought better and pulled back, clenching his jaw. "Please."

Elliott crossed his arms, prepared to say no, absolutely not; who in their right mind trusts some random stranger who probably has a criminal record? But then he looked at Five—really looked, and he saw someone who was scared, who was alone, who was—

Just like me.

A long-suffering sigh escaping his mouth, Elliot closed his eyes briefly. "God, this is probably the dumbest decision I've made to date," he muttered before nodding at Five. "I'm holding you to that, and it'd better be the best goddamn story I've ever heard."

Five seemed to slouch, a small smile appearing on his face, and even though it was quickly replaced by his usual cocky smirk, Elliott returned his smile nonetheless. But before anything else could happen, the apartment door swung open, revealing a young brunette woman.

This must be Vanya, he realized with a start. Ironically, at the same time, Five flipped on the floor lamp by the chair.

"Jesus!" Vanya exclaimed when she noticed the two teens.

"You should have locks on your windows," Five remarked idly, glancing at the window they opened without any trouble.

"I live on the second floor."

"Rapists can climb."

Vanya shook her head. "You are so weird." She paused before motioning at Elliott. "Uh, who're you?"

Swallowing, Elliott offered a small smile. "I'm Elliott—not really sure what I'm doing here, to be honest."

Five rolled his eyes and grabbed Elliott's arm, pulling him down until he was forced to squeeze next to him in the small chair while Vanya sat on the couch.

"Is that blood?" She demanded, having spotted the dried blood on her brother's clothes.

He glanced at his hand. "It's nothing," he replied, still holding onto Elliott's arm.

Elliott snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, right." His small smile contorted into a wince when Five elbowed him in the ribs, but he missed the smile that Five flashed his way.

Vanya decided to ignore the exchange. "Why are you here?"

Five sighed, looking between Elliott and his sister. "I've decided the two of you are the only ones I can trust."

"Why me?" She asked, then glancing to Elliott, "Or him? No offense."

The taller boy shook his head. "No no, it's fine; I was wondering the same thing, actually." They both looked to Five expectantly.

He huffed. "With Elliott, it's... complicated, but the short story is that he was my... closest friend in the future."

Vanya nodded, seeming to understand, but Elliott just had more questions. "Wh—"

"And me?"

Five considered her for a moment. "Because you're ordinary," he said eventually, but he quickly amended himself at Vanya's look and Elliott's elbow. "Because you'll listen."

"Okay." With that, Vanya stood and walked away. When she came back, she had gauze and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. As Five rolled up his sleeve, revealing the soaked through bandages, Elliott began to stand, only for Five to jerk him back down.

"When I got stuck in the future," Five began as Vanya cleaned his wound, "do you know what I found?"

Vanya and Elliott shared a quick look. "No," they chorused.

"Nothing," he replied, staring at something just behind them. "Absolutely nothing."

The world was nothing but rubble and ash, and Five was alone. For the first time, he found himself missing his family. For the first time, he was truly scared.

"For the longest time, I thought I was the only person alive."

The shifting of rubble made his head jerk to the side, trying to squash any rising hope of not being alone. Carefully, he made his way to the source of the sound, and he found a boy, not much older than him, with long, curly hair, laying on a small pile of rubble. He leaned down, placing his fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse. When he felt the boy's pulse, albeit weak, he fell back, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how Elliott managed to survive. Maybe it was because of your powers, maybe it was just luck."

Five managed to pull the unconscious boy onto his back, and he began to explore what was left of the world.

"I never figured out what killed the human race, but I did find something else."

As he came across a newspaper stand, he cautiously shifted the boy's weight to one hand, grabbing a newspaper with the other, studying it closely.

"The date it happens."

As he read the newspaper, his grip tightened on the boy. He was going to get home. He was going to fix this. No matter what.

"The world ends in eight days," Five finished, blinking his eyes and swallowing. He glanced back and forth between Elliott and Vanya. "And I have no idea how to stop it."

No one said anything for a few seconds. Vanya sat there, her mouth open as she struggled to find proper words, and Elliott chose to study Five closely.

"I'll put on a pot of coffee," Vanya said eventually.

[i know this is pretty much exposition-y type stuff, but i really wanted vanya to be the first hargreeves sibling elliott met. i don't even know why; i just really wanted it to happen.]

[also, five and elliott's relationship isn't going to be a slow burn or a fast burn. mostly bc even though from five's point of view, they've already been in a relationship, elliott is still reeling from this tiny wacko who stabbed several men in front of him and then spirited him away. so uh yeah. i'm excited about this though! i've got lots of ideas.]